


ain’t no grave (gonna keep my body down)

by existentialflu (sotakeabitofcalpol)



Series: NCIS Episode Tags [2]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Timothy McGee, Episode: s18e05 Head of the Snake, Gen, Injured Timothy McGee, Introspection, Shooting, hi it’s me that ncis writer I’m not dead and I bring angst, holy shit, i have no tags for this, whump without the comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29274054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sotakeabitofcalpol/pseuds/existentialflu
Summary: through it all, he needs to reach the plane. it’s life or death.Gibbs would like him to stop, so he can stop shootingaka: Tim gets shot.
Relationships: Delilah Fielding/Timothy McGee, Ellie Bishop & Timothy McGee, Jethro Gibbs & Timothy McGee
Series: NCIS Episode Tags [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1995424
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	ain’t no grave (gonna keep my body down)

**Author's Note:**

> listen. I love Ellick and am happy for you. but Tim got shot and I have yet to find content about that.
> 
> triggers for non-graphic gunshot wounds, shooting, swearing and heavy references to death, and references to explosions, shrapnel and a very tiny hint at parental neglect
> 
> this is intentionally non-linear, to reflect injury thoughts n shit, not because I’m too tired for words

The first thought Tim has as the bullet hits him is that if this whole thing doesn’t kill him, Delilah will definitely do it for him. Not malevolently, just because she loves him, and because he’d promised Johnny and Morgan would grow up with a father who only missed a few storytimes. Mostly, the first thought boils down to; don’t leave them behind.

~~He’s just shot his middle son. Fuck.~~

His second thought is that being shot hurts worse than anything else he’s ever felt. Being blown up was nothing compared to this, the searing agony. He remembers the blur that followed the Navy Yard bombing, the ache that grew but was _never this fucking painful_ as Gibbs led him down the stairs, taking most of his weight and going along with whatever delirious nonsense he spewed. Gibbs. _Zivatonybishopshittheplane_.

He’s trying to reach Bishop, the analyst who he could never envy if he tried, even though she stole a bit of his thing, because she’s on that plane and it’s rigged to blow.

It reminds him of a million things, a million times- his family have never been safe, not really. He’d call it a hazard of the job, but most people lived just fine, never went through this shit, the shit his family has and continues to. Some of them escaped with their lives. Some of them didn’t.

~~Gibbs looks down his scope at a member of his team and can only think of Kate and Ari. Doing what is right. Right is subjective.~~

He will not let her die. She is his little sister, and he never signed up to have another one, not after practically raising Sarah, but he didn’t ask for Tony or Ziva either, or even Abbey and Jimmy, and they found their way into the list of people he’d kill and die for without a second thought. Bishop is his little sister, and he cannot protect her from much, but he can get to his feet and keep moving.

~~Stay _down_ McGee ~~

Keep moving soldier. On your feet. The voice in his head sounds like Gibbs’s, and he obeys it even as the blood starts to pour faster. He calls out, maybe, a warning, maybe. Every bit of him is focused on moving forward with his gun up. He will get to the plane. He will keep her safe.

~~He doesn’t stay down. He gets up again. Torres may be stubborn, but nobody can beat how stubborn McGee is when the people he loves are in danger. Guilt quashes that curl of pride as he fires another shot~~

He feels the second bullet tear through his leg. Shitty sniper. Should’ve gone for the head ~~like Kate~~. Should’ve gone for the stomach ~~like Franks~~. Should’ve detonated the plane already, shot him full of shrapnel ~~like Ned~~. That’s not even mentioning Lee and Director Shepard and everyone else who died.

~~The apology starts before the bullet hits~~

Tim McGee hits the ground and doesn’t stand up.

**Author's Note:**

> so funny story. I’m British and thus haven’t actually seen any of this season’s episodes yet. gotta love licensing laws.
> 
> title is from Ain’t No Grave, which is also the song from the Reynosa Cartel plot line 
> 
> I told y’all I was gonna do 500 word thingies


End file.
